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Elizabeth
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| Posted: Feb 15 2007 at 12:57pm | IP Logged
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I think it's important to begin by noting that handwriting is difficult for many children and it is a detriment, particularly in the early years, to composition. Composition is the writing we are after. If a child can speak, he can compose. As early as humanly possible, show that child the writing is recorded speech. And, for as long as necessary, bear the burden of handwriting or typing that narration.
I have noticed that it is the children who are good at workbooks and can quote the rules who often have difficulty with composition. If they do write, it's stilted. That's because they've been trained to care more for the rules than the content. We're after both.
The Bravewriter approach teaches composing very well. Julie has managed to capture for moms who don't do it naturally an almost "organic" approach to teaching writing. It is definitely the way in which writing works in my house.I don't use Bravewriter because I teach that way naturally but I do think it's the best approach out there.
Fro a season--a term every year or every other year--I use a grammar program (Language of God for my youngers and the Stewart Writing Program in high school). And for a season--a term in the sixth or seventh grade--I use IEW. Other than that, we narrate and edit together.
All of my first four children write well. And none of them complain about writing. What is most remarkable about this is that one of those children has such severe learning disabilities that everyone who has tested him or looked at his test scores scratches her head and wonders how it is he is able to produce such well-developed stories and graceful turns of phrase.
One thing that I think really helped him was that I completely translated atrocious spelling and punctuation for the first thirteen years of his life. "Just tell me the story, honey. I'll do the rest." Then, when I sensed he was developmentally able, we worked together to edit what he'd keyboarded.
He's never used a grammar workbook.They require handwriting and they require reading. I've had to de-couple those very difficult skills from the skill I'm after, which is composing.
Baby needs me. More later
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Feb 15 2007 at 2:14pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| I think it's important to begin by noting that handwriting is difficult for many children and it is a detriment, particularly in the early years, to composition. Composition is the writing we are after. |
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Agreed. One of the most important lessons we do here is copy-work using excellent sources (no dialect). But for a child with handwriting issues, copy-work is a horror. As Elizabeth says, type or write for them to help develop the composition.
It has not been my (limited) experience that kids who know the rules are poor composers, but I am sure that copywork is the main reason for this, at least in my home. I have also often found the influence of great copywork is evident in the homes of many of my friends, with similar results. Last week, I had the pleasure of reading a short story about Christmas written by an 8 year old friend. I laughed aloud as I read the most charming, Beatrix-Potter-esque turns of phrase! Her mother immediately admitted to using Potter for copywork. Children with major handwriting issues may be unable to do the kind of copywork that leads to this kind of composition in early years.
What might one use as a substitute in a case like this? Or, Elizabeth, have you found that in some cases, copywork is an "extra" that need not be tackled by everyone?
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: Feb 15 2007 at 2:24pm | IP Logged
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With my children who really struggle with handwriting, I don't use copywork at all. It's an extreme learning disability though, and certainly not the average situation. The problem with copywork in that kind of case is that every stroke of every letter is a struggle. They don't benefit at all from seeing the flow of the excellent example because they can't see the forest for the leaves on the trees.
With children like that, I tend to use even more reading aloud and picture books with excellent language (like Beatrix Potter).
Handwriting is a letter at a time and very, very short lessons for a long, long time for chidren who have fine motor or visual problems.
Ohterwise, I'm a big fan of copywork. I use Startwrite to make my own, usually keying it to some other content area.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MarilynW
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| Posted: Feb 15 2007 at 2:49pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
I think it's important to begin by noting that handwriting is difficult for many children and it is a detriment, particularly in the early years, to composition...
The Bravewriter approach teaches composing very well. Julie has managed to capture for moms who don't do it naturally an almost "organic" approach to teaching writing. It is definitely the way in which writing works in my house.I don't use Bravewriter because I teach that way naturally but I do think it's the best approach out there.
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Thanks Elizabeth for the information. I think the handwriting is probably an issue - they are not fluent in their writing. I need to type for them more.
I think also that I do not teach "organically" - I have so many years of "traditional" type learning to overcome.
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Do we need to teach grammar?
